


Broken Down, Hurt Again, It Has to End.

by SketchLockwood



Category: The White Queen (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-10
Updated: 2015-06-10
Packaged: 2018-04-03 19:03:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4111693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SketchLockwood/pseuds/SketchLockwood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I wrote this to help me. It's part based off a song, part on actual experience.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Broken Down, Hurt Again, It Has to End.

He sat, watching her as he looked at his notepad. Although her name was scribbled over the front the pages were blank. Since therapy had started six weeks before each session had been fruitless, ending the same way it had started; in silence. Today however when he looked at her he knew it would be different. Today her hands were clasped slightly differently, she was less tense, visibly less anxious. 

He sighed, shifting to a more comfortable position before he looked to her, smiling as he leaned forward slightly. "So, Elizabeth, how are you?" 

Every other time he had asked that question she had simply nodded, refusing to break down the walls which she protected herself with. Today, that wasn't so. She smiled back, leaning forward mimicking his body language. "I am fine Dr Plantagenet. Better than fine in fact, I am brilliant. I think this is the happiest I have been in..." She paused, inhaling as she thought "about seven years." 

"That's brilliant." He jotted his first notes. "So Elizabeth what has made you so happy?" 

"I am out of my marriage doctor." 

"Call me Edward." Despite his expensive education and his qualifications in clinical psychology, the use of the title 'doctor' had always made him uncomfortable. 

"Edward." She said the word, testing it. "Edward, yes it suits you." 

"Thank you, but Elizabeth-" 

"Liz." She corrected, beaming. 

"Liz, this isn't about me. This is about you. We are here to discuss you. So tell me about this marriage. Was it restrictive?" 

Her body language changed, tension returned to her body. For a moment he felt she would clam up, stop talking. She ran a finger through a strand of stray hair, tucking it behind her ear. "You could have called it that yes." 

"So he was not a nice man?" He smiled reassuringly, leaning forward slightly more. 

"No, he was not. Not a nice man at all." She took a breath, beginning to shake as she looked up, her eyes meeting his. "He..." She broke off, using a hand to wipe and eye. 

His smile faded. He leaned, pushed the box of tissues across the table as he abandoned the notepad. "It's okay Liz, take your time. We have enough time to go through this slowly." 

"I really need to talk about it.." She said through the sudden floods of tears as she wiped them. 

"I know Liz. I know." He upped the comfort in his voice. 

"He used to beat me. He would... He would shout at me, call me awful names and then he would beat me. Again and again and again." The last word was a whisper as her voice had been lowering until it was barely audible. 

"I'm sorry to hear that Liz. So the marriage is over?" 

"Very much so. We won't be getting back together." 

"That is probably for the best, it's unhealthy to be in that sort of relationship." 

"I had my release. It was very... final." 

"Final how?" 

"I warned him Edward. I did. I warned him several times that he should never hit me. That he should never have hit me. I couldn't take it anymore." 

"You retaliated?" She nodded, going silent for a moment. "No one blames you Liz. It might help you to understand if you tell me." 

"I warned him. God Edward I warned him last time that if he hit me again he would regret it. But he didn't listen." She hissed the words through gritted teeth. "I had dreamt of it for weeks. Months. Years. Since Richard was born. When he was born, things changed. We had been happy before then, would you believe it?" He said nothing. "But I couldn’t take it anymore. I just couldn't. So yes I retaliated." 

"That's understandable." 

"Except it isn't, not if you knew." She shook her head, 

"Knew what Liz? What do I need to know? It's alright take your time, tell me what happened. I'll understand." 

"You're paid to be non-judgemental you mean." 

He shrugged, neither denying nor admitting the statement. 

"I killed him." The room fell silent then, the air suddenly heavy. "I don't regret it. It was so hard to speak to him about what happened. He wouldn't stop so I had no choice." 

"Liz, are you aware of what you have said? Do you mean that? Sometimes people use slang which doesn't mean they have or would-" 

"I killed him. Actually killed him. No slang, no dialect, no metaphor. He is dead. I have been wanting to tell you for weeks that I wanted to do it. That I had to. I didn’t think you'd understand." He said nothing. "I'm still not sure you do." She sighed, taking in a breath. "I stabbed him, four times. People had begun to notice Edward. They had begun to stare. Do you know what that’s like?" He shook his head, his tongue too heavy to speak. "It's awful, when your friends and relatives look on knowing what is happening to you and they do nothing. Nothing. So I did what I had to. What anyone would have, should have done. But then I guess that the confidientiality thing is going to be broken now? I guess it has to be?" 

He nodded, gripping the chair gently as he closed his eyes.


End file.
